"Very Best Game for The very First True System"

Today ladies and gentlemen I will be reviewing probably the only true classic for the Atari 2600. The very first game system that allowed you to change games has not aged very well. Today those games are not fun to play at all. I mean Atari 2600 had so many games that were once great and now lost its luster. And then there is Pitfall the only true Atari 2600 game that is fun today.

Story-
The story (and I am guessing here) is that you are Pitfall Harry and you're in WW2. Your plane has just been crashed into a jungle and now you have to get your @$$ out of there. You have absolutely nothing with you so you want to get out as soon as possible because you know the US is going to drop an atomic bomb onto Japan. On your way you have to find secrets and figure out a faster way to get out. If you die your dead body drags you back all the way to the beginning of the screen. So you cannot die.

Or the story can be this. You are Explorer Pitfall Harry sent to Africa to give a cure to an infectious disease. On your way a tribe finds you and sends deep in the jungle. Your cure only lasts a certain amount of time so you better hurry quick and get out of there. If you do not make a certain amount of points and die the tribe will catch you and send you back to where you started. You are the only one with the cure if you don't make it than nobody will ever be cured. So hurry, HURRY.

Or the story can be this. You are Pitfall Harry the biggest comic book nerd in existence. One day he won an offer for a jungle house in the Amazon rainforest. Problem is you never applied to win a jungle house. So you take a boat from Miami all the way to where your jungle house should be and it is not there. Even worse your boat explodes and you are sent 50 miles east. Now you need to get out the jungle. Everything you brought was on the boat so now you have nothing. You find out your latitude and find the biggest city near you is Brasilia Brazil (IDK now to spell Brasilia). So you keep going in a south east direction until you find your city. You face many obstacles on your way so you better be careful not to die otherwise a bug the size of a lion can carry you all the way back to the beginning.

Or the story can be whatever you want the story to be. Great thing about these Atari 2600 games is that they have no absolute story so you can make up whatever story you want.

Graphics
The Graphics in this game were incredible back in 1982. Activision has always pushed a videogame console to their limits and it is no different here. You can see Pitfall Harrys arms and legs moving while he is walking (which back then most game characters just moved from one area to the other while standing still). The alligators are green; the birds fly like a bird should fly. Atari 2600 was a 4 bit system and the nes graphics weren't any better till 2 years after its release, and that was an 8 bit system. It is just amazing that the same system which made E.T look like a giant D### can also have graphics like this. This is one reason why Activision was the best videogame company during the Atari era, and Pitfall is their best example.

Gameplay
The gameplay is basically standard now just run and jump through obstacles. But back in 1982 this was the best controlled videogame ever made. Compared to other Atari 2600 games this game controlled so fluently and was so responsive. If you wanted to go back just go back. I mean now that is just a standard in gaming but in the Atari days you couldn't walk backwards in a videogame or at least for the most part. And the best thing of all 100% of the time when you press the jump button, he jumps. That is awesome back then games were glitchy and weren't totally responsive but Activision knew what they were doing and made probably the best responsive game on the 2600, good job Activision.

Game Length
Alright I know this might be a stupid part to put down for an Atari 2600 game but I do it with every game I review. This game is not based on get from Point A to B; no it is something else entirely. This game is based on getting the highest score kind of like the Arcade games back in those days. So this game has no length so why did I put this down for this game, because of its replay value. This game has incredible replay value and back in 1982 this was the game everybody played (kind of like call of duty is now in the year 2011). This game never gets old to play and that is an accomplishment. Again great job Activision.

Bad Part
The main thing that stinks in this game is that you cannot find the original cartage anywhere without paying over 10 thousand dollars (brand new). But something else about this game just does not scream instant classic. I do not know how to explain it but you have to put your mindset back in 1982 to really enjoy this game to its fullest. It is not like Super Mario Bros. where it has the same fun factor now as it did back then. Does that make scence, if it doesn't don't sweat it, I will try to explain. Remember the original Pokémon games for the Game Boy; those were the best thing in the world back in 1998. But you play them now, not as fun. And it is the same with Pitfall just too many games have come out now that are better than Pitfall that it is not a Timeless classic like Super Mario Bros.

Good Part
But once you put your mind back in 1982 you just realize just how awesome this game was. It had tons of obstacles, tons of stuff to dodge. Amazing Graphics, Perfect Gameplay and Incredible Replay Value just made this the best game for the 2600. Everybody will find something to love about Pitfall and I bet back in 1982 this was everybody's favorite game. If you like Atari 2600 games and have not played Pitfall yet and go find a way to play Pitfall. On the Playstation 2 there is an Activision Anthology, buy it and play Pitfall. This is the original Platformer. Activision we thank you for making this classic.

Final Thoughts
Pitfall isn't as fun as it once was. But that should not stop you from playing the original Pitfall for the Atari 2600. It truly brings you back to when times were simpler, to when we played videogames just for the sheer joyment of having a controller in our hands. Pitfall is the best Atari 2600 game ever made and nobody disagrees. You either love this game or hate it but personally it isn't just a game, it is THE game of its generation.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/11, Updated 06/14/11

Game Release: Pitfall! (US, 04/20/82)